Sterile butter-fat and method of producing the same.



. Ito Brewing.

tam-1. .s j ar a alhaltd i it? h ts/lbs .QElHL-FAT AND llCl'IIElTHUD OF PEDITUCKNG- THE SIHVEE.

To allwhom may concern:

Be it known that l, Cnsnnns l1 Hoonns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of l i ayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sterile Butter-Fat and Methods of Producing the Same, and de clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description. of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying d airings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a method of sterilizing butter-fat and to the product re sulting from such sterilization and the ob ject of the invei'ition is a sterile, sweet butter fat that Will keep for an indefinite period and in all climates in a palatable condition Without the use of cold storage or other method of preventing deterioration and that may be handled commercially either in bulk or in the same manner as ordinary canned goods.

Cows butter, as known commercially at the present time, is subject to comparatively rapid deterioration due to the presence and growth of bacteria therein causing rancidity, putridity, etc, depending upon the quantity and kind of germs which it contains. l hese vegetating organisms are present in large numbers in milk and cream, ripened cream often containing 500,000,000 organisms per cubic centimeter representing a germ content that has no parallel in any natural material and it naturally follows that butter, as man-- ufactured by any process heretofore known,

contains bacteria in greater or less numbers resulting in the imperfections and deteriorrtlons'in the product as heretofore mentioned. The bacteria in butter and cream are generally of the acid forming and casein digest ing groups and the number found in butter is much less than is found in cream due to the much smaller amount of milk serum in Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented All r. 30,

application filed January 17, 1912. Serial l lo. arm ea.

butter contains about butter-fat, 14% moisture, ant. 1% casein from which it may be readily seen that the bacteria fosterino" elements are very much greater in milk than in butter.

Various methods have been proposed tending to produce a butter bearing a smaller quantity of bacteria and therefore a product that Will keep for a longer period of time without deterioration among which may be mentioned the pasteurization of the cream. and the destruction of the germ life therein prior to the making of the butter and also the method of storing butter at low temperatures Where germ growth is suspended, the latter method being the one most commonly employed.

Neither of these methods, or any other method known up to the present time, fully accomplish the desired result butter made from pasteurized cream may still become infected. and butter removed from storage deteriorates fully as rapidly as it would before being placed therein.

The product resulting from the process of manufacture hereinafter outlined contains no germ fostering element and may be sold to the trade either in bull: or in packages but preferably in hermetically sealed packages in which form it cannot become contaminated and may be purchased with the assurance that the contents are in perfect condition and, Without entering into a description of those commonly known stops by means of which. ordinary butter is usually produced, the process consists, generally of the following stepslirstthe heating of such butter until it becomes liquid in form and the casein and curd content becomes of Water butterhardened.,-3ecoudseparating the hardened casein and curd from the liquid either by straining or filtering or analogous 1ncthod.lhird--subjecting the liquid to a greater degree of heat to free it of mois ture.-Foiu'th--packaging the liquid. Fl'filillGI'lIlBhlCilllY sealing the packages-- SiXtl1-subjecting the hermetically sealed packages to a degree of heat suliicient to sterilize the contents.

It is to be noted that the process consists generally of the steps as above outlined. but variations in said steps or their sequence caused by yariations'in the (-oi'idition of the material to be acted upon or in slight varia tions that may be desired in the product as hereinafter shown may be made without de parting from the spirit of this invention.

The first step-that of melting the butter, etc., may be accomplished in any convenient receptacle, such 'as a water or steam jacketed tank that are at present in use for analogous purposes and the degree of temperature required ranges from about degrees to about degrees Fahrenheit. he object of this step is to harden the solids, such as casein, etc., in order that they may be readily separated from the liquid butteufat and the desirability of such separation is found in the fact such material in butter fosters bacteriological growth as ieretofore shown and in the further fact that the retention of such material would result in a product that was streaked and filled with white lumps which is undesirable. Its retention would also cause the finished product to have a cooked taste but its removal at this stage and temperature obviates this difliculty as'such taste is not imparted to milk serum or casein, etc, at temperatures up to substantially 160 degrees F. and consequently the butter-fat is unaffected. However, as butter-fat does not readily take on such a taste, the temperature may be carried as high as degrees F. without particular detriment to the product and may be desiraie for reasons hereinafter given.

Butter made from pasteurized cream may not requlrea temperature above 110 degrees F. as the casein, etc., contained therein-has previously been hardened in the pasteurizing process and this low temperature will be suflieient to melt the butter and the casein, etc., removed as heretofore mentioned while with butter made from cream not so treated a higher temperature will be required to harden such substances. At the temperatures mentioned the hardened substances will float in and on the surface ofthe liquid but; Willi a temperature of substantially 180 degrees F., these substances will settle in the bottom of the receptacle which is a condition that may be found desirable prior to taking the next step.

The second stepthat of sc 'inrating the hardened casein and curd from the liquid butterfnt, may be accomplished in several Well known ways, either by skimming, or

straining through fine wire mesh or several layers of cheese cloth, or by passing through a filter press.-

Should the first stop he performed at a temperature of substantially 180 degrees I". and the hardened material settled in the bottom of the tank, the liquid may be readily drawn ofi from the tank resulting in a sepa- J:ati0n of the casein and curd from the liquid Without the necessity of straining. This method of-pcrforming tl second step may be as readily accomplished as any of the other-methods mentioned and either of the "soldering a.

butter-fat of moisture, is utilized in case the product desired is substantially pure, sterile butter-fut, and may be accomplished by sul jecting the liquid to heat of substantially 212 degrees F. by means of a water or steam jacketed tank or similar well known apparatus. I

In case moisture or both salt and moisture are desired in the product, this step may be dispensed with and necessarily so if the but.- ter treated be salted, in which case the removal of the moisture would result in the product containing undissolved salt.

The fourth step, that of packaging .11: liquid, may be accomplished by means of any of the various filling machines now on the market, preferably such as are in use in the filling of runs with condensed milk, cl'tn, for the reason that the preferred package for the finished-product is a metal can.

The'fifth step, that of hermetically scaling the packages, may also be readily nocomplished by those well known methods 110W employed in the imtnufacturc and packaging of canned goods such as condensed milk, and other food products, and consists in closing the opening through which the cans are lilled either by sold' 'r alone or by metal over the opening. the method employed depending upon lhc size of the. opening. Any otlu 1; suitable method may also be employed as desired.

The sixth step, that ol' subjecting the hermetically scaled packages to a degree of heat sullicienl. to sterilize lhc conlcnls, consisls simply in maintaining the packaged mate rial in a temperature of approxinultely i!l0 degrees F. for about lhirty minutes or :1 loss degree of heat lor :1 longer period of time.

This slop maybe performed bymcnnsolauy of the well known sterilizers now on tho market adapted to sterilize canned goodsm ages, the fourth and lifth steps may be dispensed with, in which event'thc liquid would be sterilized after the second or third stops and the sterilizer used may be of simplci form than the type above mcntionml us no cans need be handled. It thus becomes evi dent that the sterilizing of the liquid is the essential characteristic of the sixth slop and the liquid may be packaged or not so packaged without departing from the spirit of this invention.

it is to be noted that approximately 99% of the butter produced in this country'is colored with a butter color. Such butter forms the raw material from which the hereindescribed product is made and, as color is llll desirable in the product and as neither of the steps hereinbefore outlined are adopted to remove such color, the product resulting; from such steps will also be colored. There fore, it is to he understood that by suostan tially pure butter or hutcenfat is meant a butter or buttenfat that approximates purity so far as 'itdnfi'y loo practicable or necessary to accomplish the objectmf the invention. H Wever, butter that is not artificially colcred may he treated by this processas readily as that which is.

From the foregoing description it is helieved evident that the product i sulting from the process described oi; the'i ariations thereof will keep tor a much longer period of time than. ordinary loutter even though it was nct'packaged, due to the absence of bacterial food and its sterile condition, hut if packaged and hermetically sealed, it will keep for an indefinite period and in all climates and will. be found useful for all purposes for which butter or butter-fat is r may he used.

What It. claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. The herein described process which consists in heating butter until it is liquefied and the casein and curd content becomes hardened, separnting the hardened njintei'ial from the liquid, and finally heating ,the liquid under the exclusion of air until it heconics sterile.

T he herein described process which consists in heating butter until it lique fied end the casein and curd content becomes hardened, separating the hardened material from the liquid, packaging the liquid, and finally subjecting the packages to a degree of heat sullicient to sterilize the contents While excluded from atmosphere.

5-}. The herein described process which consists in heating; butter until it is liquelied and the :ascin and curd content hecmnes llltltlCilCCl, separating the hardened content from the liquid, packaging the liquid, hermetically s ling the packages, and finally subjecting 1e sealed packages to adegree of heut suliicient to sterilize the contents l. The nietnod of producing substantially pure butter-fat which consists in heating unsalted butter .until it is liquefied and the casein and curd content becomes hardened, Scpuruting the hardened content from the liquid, subjecting the liquid to a degree of heat sutiicient to free it of moisture, und iii'nilly heating the substantially pure hutof n'ioisture, Put it! sterilizing the liquid W lie, u.id u ule in the sealed and excluded from in 6. The herein consists in h. i liquefied. and. the comes hardened, content from ih sealing; icing the "Z. L butter which consists die liq. tying thereof, second separating the c-z' ill und curd content therefrom, and finally sterilizing the liquid While exchuied iroin nil-sterilized air.

8. The process treating butter which consists first, ue thereof, second, sepnrntin, cin and curd content from the "freeing: the liquid of inoistura erilizingg the liquid in sealed pucin 'lhc pron sting; cutter which the liqueziying thereof at consists, first, V a teinp' c t exceeding; 180 degrees l ahrj, second, po nting the casein and curd content third, sulijec' excluded tron! u ture of hstsntinlly ML;

it is sterilized.

10. The "{JLQ oli treating butter Which consists, first, in. the liquotying thereof at a temperature not exceeding 180 degrees l uhn, second, sepsn'i the casein and curd content from the liquid, third, sub ectlng the clarified liquid to a temperature ofsuhstantiolly 52., degrees ll 1, to free it of e liquid -ufhile heated, cl ed liquid While moisture, Zr id finally suli iccting the cl arified, moisture air to a temp re grccs l ahuntil in testimony who. ficution in. tl presence l tisilly 240 deliilGEllS.

rec, liquid under the exclusion of I 

